Cotton harvesting usually involves the use of a cotton picker which removes the cotton bolls from the plant and collects them in a bin or hopper. The pickers are made up of toothed drums which rotate such that the teeth tear the buds of cotton away from the plant. A pneumatic conveyor system then blows the picked cotton into the hopper. Further processing of the cotton bolls involves separation of the cotton fibre from the trash, and is usually carried out in a cotton gin or factory.
For some time now, a type of cotton farming known as “narrow row” or “ultra-narrow row” (UNR) farming has been introduced to increase the crop yield. Traditional cotton picker machines are not suited to this type of farming practice. Although cotton harvesters have been proposed for such crops, because they are based on a comb and rotating beater to strip the plants of cotton bolls, small branches and other trash are often included which can create problems when the cotton is ginned.
Known cotton pickers are not always efficient in removing cotton fibre cleanly from the husk, and sometimes cause high levels of trash to be included in the cotton fibre. Dirty cotton is difficult and costly to process, adversely affecting the carding and doffing processes, and may even damage cotton processing equipment. Moreover, the traditional cotton picker usually has a somewhat complex mechanical arrangements for changing the pitch of the barbs of the spiked or toothed spindles. Such arrangements are expensive to manufacture and maintain, and can be prone to failure.
The present invention aims to provide apparatus for and a method of harvesting cotton which ameliorates one or more of the shortcomings of the prior art, or at least to provide an alternative cotton harvesting apparatus. Other aims and advantages of the invention may become apparent from the following description.